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Looks at factors that effect economic decision making.

1. Relevance to curriculum: Medium
2. Relationship to other subjects: Medium
3. Interactive: Low
4. 4Cs: Medium
5. Accessibility: High

This article gives a great overview to factors that contribute to economic decision making. It is highly accessible, and should be straight forward for students to understand. Although it is not interactive it allows students to link areas of the curriculum such as budgets, value maximisation, cost vs benefits to decision making.

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Economic decision making is all about maximizing value.

money image by cherie from Fotolia.com

Economic models help managers and economists analyze the economic decision-making process. Each model relies on a number of assumptions, or basic factors that are present in all decision situations. Almost everyone in society engages in economic decision making at some point, from the billionaire investing in real estate, to the small business owner signing a contract with a supplier, to the teenager buying a video game or applying for a job; and these basic factors almost always come into play.

Working on a Budget

Even the wealthiest individuals and organizations have a limited amount of capital resources to work with. The constraints of a budget influence nearly all economic decisions, since the sum of all expenditures should never exceed the availability of capital. Cash availability is not always a direct limiting factor in economic decision making, since credit arrangements can allow people to spend more than they have. Even with credit purchase agreements, however, borrowers still take into account the ability to repay the debt over time, which brings the decision back to the issue of budgets and limited resources.

Maximizing Value

The fundamental basis of economic decision making is individuals' or organizations' desire to maximize benefits while minimizing costs. This balancing act is referred to as maximizing value, and it is a skill that takes practice to master. For individuals, value maximization decisions may include choosing between name-brand products and generic products, and choosing between small or bulk sizes. For a company, value maximization involves finding the lowest-cost suppliers that meet the company's quality standards, then determining the economic order quantity (EOQ) for each purchase. Economic order quantity is the perfect amount of a product or material to order at a time, taking advantage of quantity discounts while also keeping holding and transportation costs under control.

Rational Decision Making

Nearly all economic models and theories have one irreconcilable flaw: they assume that all economic decision makers act logically and rationally, taking all available information into account in an objective manner before making a decision. While it is true that most people and organizations attempt to do this, the reality of economic decisions is slightly different. Emotional theory in the stock market is a prime example of people's inability to make purely rational decisions on a consistent basis. Emotional theory states that everyone is influenced by his past experiences, expectations, emotional state and emotional memory when making a decision. People can place too much emphasis on certain information, such as recent news or bad news, which can skew their rational decision making as well.

Costs Versus Benefits

Costs and benefits are key factors that all economic decision makers take into account. Families, small business owners and others weigh the benefits and costs of decisions related to purchases, investments, sales and other expenditures before making a decision. This concept is similar to the idea of value maximization, with a distinct difference. Cost-benefit analyses assume that for every decision, something must be gained and something must be lost. Even in investment decisions, there is an opportunity cost-the cost of not using the money in another way-that must be considered. The goal of economic decision making is to make tradeoffs that allow you to gain more than you lose each time.

About the Author

David Ingram has written for multiple publications since 2009, including "The Houston Chronicle" and online at Business.com. As a small-business owner, Ingram regularly confronts modern issues in management, marketing, finance and business law. He has earned a Bachelor of Arts in management from Walsh University.

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Basic Factors of Economic Decision Making

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Economic models help managers and economists analyze the economic decision-making process. Each model relies on a number of assumptions, or basic factors that are present in all decision situations.

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News resources for students and teachers

1. Relevance to curriculum: Medium
2. Relationship to other subjects: Medium
3. Interactive: Medium
4. 4Cs: Medium
5. Accessibility: High

News articles and lesson plans on current issues for students however they are based on a US context
Can be modified or used as a guide for Australian students
Various activities included with varying degrees of interactivity
Most activities involve critical thinking and communication although creativity and collaboration varies with each lesson
Easily accessed online without registration.

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Video
After the Vietnam War ended, nearly 1.5 million Vietnamese migrated to the United States in search of better lives. Today, some of the younger generation that grew up there are returning to a more prosperous Vietnam.
Continue reading

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Video After the Vietnam War ended, nearly 1.5 million Vietnamese migrated to the United States in search of better lives. Today, some of the younger generation that grew up there are returning to a more prosperous Vietnam. Continue reading

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News for Australian students

1. Relevance to curriculum: Medium
2. Relationship to other subjects: Medium
3. Interactive: Medium
4. 4Cs: Medium
5. Accessibility: Low

Informative articles on current issues for students which are relevant especially for Australian students
Not highly interactive however it can easily be incorporated into lessons and makes topics more relevant to the real world
Requires subscription, 12 months for $216

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News Archives - Page 7 of 39 - Crinkling News

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Current news stories simplified for kids and includes lesson plans and points of discussion

1. Relevance to curriculum: Medium
2. Relationship to other subjects: Medium
3. Interactive: Medium
4. 4Cs: Medium
5. Accessibility: High

Informative articles on current issues which are simplified and useful for younger students and includes  media literacy activities
Not highly interactive however it can easily be incorporated into lessons and makes topics more relevant to the real world
Easily accessed online without registration.

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Coco, Latte and Leo are hanging out at a cafe in Toronto. But they're not humans-they're cats. Meow Cat Cafe is one of four locations in the Canadian city where cat lovers can indulge in two of their favourite things: drinking coffee and playing with cats.

"Petting the cats is very healing. It calms people," said Erica Yun, the owner of the cafe.

While Yun and her daughter, Helen, serve up coffee, customers get their feline fix.

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Teaching Kids News - Readable, teachable news.

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Coco, Latte and Leo are hanging out at a cafe in Toronto. But they're not humans-they're cats. Meow Cat Cafe is one of four locations in the Canadian city where cat lovers can indulge in two of their favourite things: drinking coffee and playing with cats. "Petting the cats is very healing.

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Science news written for students with topics such as environment, innovation and cool jobs
1. Relevance to curriculum: Medium
2. Relationship to other subjects: High
3. Interactive: Medium
4. 4Cs: Medium
5. Accessibility: High

Informative articles on current issues in science highly relevant to topics such as entrepreneurship
Although it is not highly interactive it is a highly credible resource which it relevant to students
Many articles are free of charge however a $50 (USD)/year subscription gains access to archives, subscription to magazines and apps.

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Science News Explores publishes news from all fields of science for students from middle school and up, with resources for parents and educators.

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Explanation of resource

1. Relevance to curriculum
2. Relationship to other subjects
3. Interactive
4. 4Cs
5. Accessibility

Explanation of rating and tips

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Click below for more economics teaching resources

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Budget Review - The University of Sydney

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Budget Review - The University of Sydney

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Current article discussing the most recent Federal Budget
1. Relevance to curriculum: Medium
2. Relationship to other subjects: Medium
3. Interactive: Low
4. 4Cs: Medium
5. Accessibility: High

This article looks at the real life, relatable subject of the current Federal Budget. Although it may seem purely economic, this article breaks down the budget into subjects that are easily applied to more than just economics. This is not an interactive article that includes exercises, however may be used to build or support activities.

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Professor Nicole Gurran, also an urban planner from the School of Architecture, Design and Planning, echoed Professor Phibbs' analysis: "The Treasurer's budget and 'housing package' signals a change in the policy narrative around Australia's chronic housing affordability problems.

"But there is little change to actual policy settings which have fuelled high housing demand, with negative gearing and capital gains tax arrangements largely untouched."

2. Higher education reforms an 'opportunity missed'

"The federal government's Higher Education Reform Package represents both a disaster averted and an opportunity missed," said Vice-Chancellor and Principal Dr Michael Spence.

"While we welcome a number of measures including the decision to take the 20 percent funding cuts proposed by his predecessor off the table, the package means that students will be paying more, and universities will be receiving less, neither of which is good for a knowledge economy.

"Obviously this is bad news for students. It increases their contributions without giving us resources to provide additional bursary and accommodation support. As I have been advocating publicly for some years now, more must be done to support the living costs of students for whom university is a financial struggle."

3. Value for money essential for major infrastructure

"It is sensible that the federal government takes responsibility for large infrastructure projects such as Sydney's new airport at Badgerys Creek, the Inland Rail and the various freight rail projects promised throughout Australia," said Dr Geoffrey Clifton from the University of Sydney Business School.

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2017 federal budget explained: 6 things you need to know

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Professor Nicole Gurran, also an urban planner from the School of Architecture, Design and Planning, echoed Professor Phibbs' analysis: "The Treasurer's budget and 'housing package' signals a change in the policy narrative around Australia's chronic housing affordability problems. "But there is little change to actual policy settings which have fuelled high housing demand, with negative gearing and capital gains tax arrangements largely untouched."

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Trade implications after Brexit - The Economist

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Trade implications after Brexit - The Economist

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Article discussing the economic, political and social issues surrounding trade in Brittain and Europe after Brexit.
1. Relevance to curriculum: Medium
2. Relationship to other subjects: High
3. Interactive: Low
4. 4Cs: Medium
5. Accessibility: Medium

This article looks at many facades of Brexit and its implications on international trade. It is a clear, topical, interesting piece that looks at a real life scenario of trade. Although students are able to access this article for free, there is a maximum of three articles per week for viewing.

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TO MOST Britons, the white cliffs of Dover are symbols of independence and defiance, especially against any prospect of invasion from the continent. But the clifftops also afford an excellent view of one of the great success stories of Britain's more recent integration with Europe: Dover's eastern docks.

This is the centre of Britain's seamless trade with the European Union. A long line of lorries snakes slowly but uninterruptedly around concrete concourses and onto the roll-on, roll-off ferries that make the short crossing to Calais. So smooth is the process that the port can handle 10,500 lorries a day. About £120bn ($150bn) of traded goods comes through Dover each year, 17% of Britain's total. A few miles away at the Channel Tunnel, up to 6,000 more lorries arrive daily. Yet delays are rare because Britain's membership of the EU's single market and customs union mean there is almost no paperwork to hold things up.

Soon that will change. In two years Britain is due to leave the EU-including its single market and customs union, Theresa May has said. The prime minister's vision of a "hard Brexit" will mean the return of customs barriers in some form, and thus hold-ups at the ports.

There are many benefits to the current, "frictionless" system, as Mrs May has accurately described it. One is that the ease of trade generates more trade: there has been a fourfold increase in the number of lorries coming in and out of Britain via Kent since customs barriers within the EU were abolished in 1992. Another is that British industry has used this reliable, round-the-clock delivery system to exploit "just-in-time manufacturing", which allows carmakers, for instance, to dispense with expensive inventories and warehousing. Take the Mini, manufactured by BMW. Minis are essentially built to order, as each customer selects options for the trim and interior. The company plans production a week in advance, to the very hour that the different parts are scheduled to arrive.

To see how things might work after Brexit, visit Dover's western docks. This is where trucks from non-EU countries arrive to clear customs. About 500 come here daily, from the Dover ferries and the Channel Tunnel, and their clearance is rather less seamless. Drivers have to park and fill in a form at the freight clearance office. A computerised system known as the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) logs details automatically, indicating what the goods are and what the import duty might be, but it has to be checked. Even for lorries from countries with close trading relationships, like Switzerland, all this "can take anything from 20 minutes to an hour" from disembarking, says Tim Dixon of Motis, the firm that runs the operation. For countries operating under World Trade Organisation rules only, the process could take much longer. Ominously, the Motis office has a TV lounge, launderette and restaurant in case the drivers have to lie up for a bit.

This glimpse into the future is the stuff of nightmares for British business. Just-in-time manufacturing windows could be just-missed; food importers and exporters could see their perishables wilt with the wait, especially as customs procedures might have to be repeated on the French side. Irish hauliers are particularly anxious, as 80% of Ireland's road freight to Europe goes through the British mainland. Post-Brexit, they might have to clear customs four times.

There is another headache. By coincidence, CHIEF is due to be replaced by a new system in March 2019, the due date for Brexit. Designed to cope with 60m customs declarations a year this will now have to cope with about 300m. The project already seems to be in trouble. In November the government customs service gave it a "green" rating, meaning all was tickety-boo. Yet in January it was rated "amber/red", meaning it was "in doubt", with "major risks". Andrew Tyrie, the chairman of the House of Commons Treasury select committee, is ringing alarm bells. "The consequences of this project failing, or even being delayed, could be serious," he warns. "Much trade could be lost."

Even if the new system does work, it will still require companies to input complex data, and often quickly. Businesses could outsource this sort of work to professionals, but whereas there were 125 such customs agents at Dover before 1992, there are only 24 left. All this will add to costs; even if Britain were to negotiate a good free-trade agreement with the EU, any deal would require customs formalities, says Michael Lux, who used to work on customs for the European Commission. The number of customs officials may have to double, he says. It might be possible to devise a system whereby lorries from "trusted trader" companies are waved through, but this does not take account of the fact that many will be carrying consignments from different sources. Furthermore, no fewer than 34 government agencies have the right to interdict traffic, a splendid recipe for bureaucratic hold-ups.

So finely tuned is the operation at the western docks, and so heavy the weight of traffic, that the slightest glitch can cause lorries to stack up on the approach roads to Dover. And when French ferry operators went on strike during the summer of 2015, the M20 motorway turned into a lorry park, losing businesses £21m worth of stock that was ruined by the wait, according to the Road Haulage Association. If Mrs May continues her pursuit of a hard Brexit and the upgrade of Britain's customs operation maintains its leisurely pace, the summer of 2019 could be more chaotic still.

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The customs crunch: To see how trade may work after Brexit, visit Dover's docks | The Economist

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TO MOST Britons, the white cliffs of Dover are symbols of independence and defiance, especially against any prospect of invasion from the continent. But the clifftops also afford an excellent view of one of the great success stories of Britain's more recent integration with Europe: Dover's eastern docks.